What to do and see in Venice.
A list of the best 30 things to do by our own tour guide, Lisa Giordanio
1) Get lost in Venice!
'There is nothing, I repeat nothing, that is as important when you’re visiting Venice than just wandering aimlessly through its streets and alleys. If you only had 3-4 hours in the city, I’d recommend that you do this before you set foot inside a single museum or attraction – it’s that critical to enjoying your visit. By wandering (especially if you point yourself in the exact opposite of the direction where the herd is going) you can find Venice’s many charming and often-empty squares and streets, which goes a long way toward helping you appreciate the city. I’d almost say you could ignore basically everything else on this list and just stroll around without a map… But although I might not go that far again, unless you've only got 4 hours or less), I do consider the sentence “get lost in Venice” an order, not a suggestion.'
2) Jump onto the art scene!
'Venice has a contemporary art scene that lives up to its glorious art history! An impressive 77 nations sent works by 90 artists to the 2009 Biennale a two-yearly artistic bunfight where deals are hatched and hopefuls vie with big names for a piece of the action. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection of 20th-century masters has long been the city's third most visited attraction, while the Punta della Dogana, which opened in 2009, brought works by contemporary giants including Dan Flavin, Jeff Koons, Jean Tinguely and Rachel Whiteread to the city.'
3) Visit St. Mark's Basilica
'I love churches in Italy, and I've seen quite a few big Italian churches, but this is - by far - my favorite church in the country. It's beautiful outside, with its big onion domes and multi-colored marble pillars, and the interior is floor-to-ceiling mosaics, There's no fee to tour the main part of the Basilica, and even booking an entry time online (so you don't have to wait in the sometimes long line out front) is free, so after you've wandered the city this should be your next stop. There are three smaller museums within the Basilica which you'll have to pay an entry to see, your budget and overall interest should dictate whether you visits all of them, but if you're just going to pick one then by all means take the narrow and steep staircase in the entry alcove up to the museum that has the original horses which used to look over the square - in addition to seeing the horses, you'll also get to go out on the roof and overlook the square yourself.
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